Responsible and Accountable

Pastors/elders are shepherds who care for the flock of God. They minister the Word of God and lead the church. But what if I told you that you as a church have some God-given responsibilities as a church for the care of your pastor/elders?

What is leadership and specifically the relationship between the leader and the followers to look like within the church of God? It’s supposed to stand out as different and unique up against the leadership of the world. The leadership of the world can be seen in many secular workplaces. Think about your own job. Usually you find a strained relationship between the bosses and the workers at a company. A lot of times you see harsh leadership, gossip, suspicious behavior, favoritism, maybe nepotism, and a lot of times it’s a dog eat dog, kind of place. The church should stand in glaring relief of this. Elders/pastors are to show concern for the body and the body should display a loving esteem for their pastor/elders.

If you've been part of a church for very long, you've experienced friction in some of the relationships within the church. The scripture gives us parameters for how to deal with these frictions. One of the areas where I have often seen friction is between the congregation and their elders or pastors. The elders have a responsibility to the church but the church as well, has a responsibility to the elders.

Paul had just been writing about caring for one another in the church, specifically the care and honoring of widows. Now he turns to honoring elders and the care of elders. It would be very easy with I Timothy to write it off as a church member if you’re not an elder because you think it’s a pastoral epistle so it’s only for Timothy. However, Paul intended this to be read by the church as a whole as well. Why would I say this? At the very end of chapter 6, the final four words of verse 21 say, “Grace be with you.” The you there is plural. Paul fully intends that the church hears these things so we must see this passage as important for the membership of the church as well as the elders. Paul is talking to the church about how they should relate to their elders/pastors.

Paul espouses a high view of the church. In I Timothy 3:15 we find the theme of his whole letter to Timothy, this young pastor serving the church at Ephesus. He writes:

1 Timothy 3:15 ESV

15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

We must keep this in mind as we look at these verses. Paul is explaining how Christians should act within the church (the household of God, the family of God) because the church is “a pillar and buttress of the truth.” That means the church holds forth and holds up the truth for the world to see. Therefore our conduct in the body should be full of truth and godliness.

What I want them to know: The church must care for the leaders God has entrusted with their care. The text gets there with three main points. Provide honor for good elders. Provide accountability for elders, and provide proper assessment for prospective elders. We begin in verses 17-18 with an admonition to provide honor for the good church elders.

I. Provide honor for good elders. (v. 17-18)

1 Timothy 5:17–18 ESV

17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

How is the church to honor elders/pastors?

Financial - the biblical word for honor was used often to refer to a stipend or allowance. It’s where we get our word honorarium.

We can understand that Paul has in view here financial compensation for elders by the little word “for” that he uses and then quotes two passages from scripture.

Deuteronomy 25:4 ESV

4 “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.

Luke 10:7 ESV

7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.

In I Corinthians chapter 9 Paul, writing to the church at Corinth explains God’s concern for the ox in the Deuteronomy verse in connection with those who labor in the gospel. He explains that those who labor for the gospel can rightly expect to be paid for it.

1 Corinthians 9:14 ESV

14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

Some churches seem to live by the motto, “God keep our pastor humble and we’ll keep him poor.” Not only is that not what Paul intends here but it actually does damage to the gospel witness of a church.

Most of these men will have families and need to provide for them. The church is responsible to provide a living wage for the ministry that it receives from it’s elders.

Why does this matter?

- By not taking care of their elders they are communicating to the world how little they actually think of the ministry of the Word of God.

Qualifications for honor:

-who rule well (manage) - NIV - “direct the affairs of the church”

This means they teach biblical doctrine, pray for the work of the gospel, and chart a vision for the future of the church.

there seems to be a distinction between elders and the elders who teach, or more precisely labor in preaching and teaching.

Labor is a term for strenuous effort. The study and preparation of a proper expository sermon is work. It’s study and prayer to make sure I am clearly communicating the meaning of the Word and bringing it to bear on the hearts of the people of God.

-double honor

It’s probable that double honor doesn’t ONLY have to do with financial. I also don’t think this is necessarily saying that the preaching pastor should earn twice as much. Honor can also mean respect. A second kind of honoring of elders other than only financial is by showing them respect.

Respect

How can you show respect to the elders/pastor of your church?

receive his counsel and correction as long as it’s Biblical

Hebrews 13:17 ESV

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

encourage him

Ministry is quite lonely and those of us who are on the front lines walk around with targets on our backs for the enemy. Discouragement abounds. People leave the church and the pastor is blamed whether in word or silence. You pour your heart out and try to show people God’s Word and they often just walk away from it and you watch their lives spiral. Your encouragement has meant the world to me as your pastor. So if I could selfishly ask, don’t stop.

Jesus talked about money a lot in the gospels. It’s because what we do with our money goes deeper than our wallet. It goes all the way to our heart.

Matthew 6:21 ESV

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

So elders are to be paid and protected. Protection comes through keeping them from false accusations but also in providing accountability for elders.

II. Provide accountability for elders. (v. 19-21)

1 Timothy 5:19–21 ESV

19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. 21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.

- Protect against false accusations.

We should not be surprised when elders are accused. They are out there teaching and confronting sin.

Paul made provision for this in his letter. Further, God made provision by inspiring Paul to write it.

There were false teachers in Ephesus who needed confronted and it’s not out of the question to think that they elders in the church may have faced some accusations. In our current cultural moment, it wouldn’t be crazy to think of some kind of false accusation being made. Paul sets in place a way of determining whether you hear out the accusation.

- Process for a fair accusation.

Be cautious when an elder is accused. If there are two or three witnesses then you hear out the accusation. This doesn’t remove the responsibility of the parties involved to follow normal biblical conflict resolution processes. But when making an accusation against an elder of some kind… could be any kind of sin that he’s being accused of… you get two or three witnesses.

- Rebuke a sinful elder.

Just as there are times to rebuke someone in sin, the unrepentant elder should be rebuked publically. In verse 20 you see that part of this was so that it would act as a warning to anyone else watching and overhearing.

There were false teachers in Ephesus and Timothy should publically rebuke them. It should be done in a fitting and orderly way but it shouldn’t be avoided.

Show no favoritism.

Again: Publicly as a warning to others.

And the third main point of our text is that the church should provide for proper assessment of potential elders.

III. Provide proper assessment for potential elders. (v. 22-25)

1 Timothy 5:22–25 ESV

22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. 23 (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.) 24 The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. 25 So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.

We should be cautious and patient about who we appoint as elders.

Don’t be hasty. Some sins you see right away but others take a while to surface.

It’s for your benefit.

It’s for their benefit.

Jerome described the four kinds of people in the visible church in this way, ““Certain persons sin so deliberately and flagrantly that you no sooner see them than you know them at once to be sinners. But the defects of others are so cunningly concealed that we only learn them from subsequent information. Similarly the good deeds of some people are public property, while those of others we come to know only through long intimacy with them.”

Land the Plane:

Ryken writes,

1 Timothy Chapter 16: What Sheep Owe Their Shepherds (1 Timothy 5:17–25)

If ministers are not adequately paid, then they are distracted by worldly cares and may be tempted to become discontent. If they are falsely accused, then their teaching will be dismissed. If they are not disciplined, then the whole church will fall into disrepute, especially if these men never should have been allowed to become ministers in the first place.

The challenge for you as the church is: Care for those who exercise spiritual care over you.

In this way you display the glory of the gospel in the church.

Jesus Himself is the good shepherd who gave His life for the sheep. He has given the gift of elders to the church to serve as His under shepherds to make sure the sheep have the care they need on their sanctification journey. When we treat one another with love and forgiveness and hold to the truth, protecting the reputation of the church we are acting as that pillar and buttress of the truth. We are walking and living in the truth and the world can tell that we are different.

So where is your heart?

One of the biggest dangers here with the issue of appointing and caring for elders is really indifference.

We are prone to just not think about it or assume someone else will do it, but the charge is there for the church. Will we take God at His Word?

Let’s pray.

PRAY

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